


Jump!

by tehfanglyfish



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Canon Era, Deviates From Canon, Falling In Love... Quite Literally, First Kiss, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-22 07:30:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20870483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tehfanglyfish/pseuds/tehfanglyfish
Summary: Trapped in a burning tower, Arthur and Merlin have no choice but to jump out of a window to escape the flames. What Arthur thinks will be the end turns out to be a beginning.





	Jump!

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own these characters or this franchise but I love them with all my heart and so I write stories about.

“Jump!” Merlin yelled as he grabbed Arthur’s hand, pulling him closer to the window’s ledge.

“What?!”

Arthur had always assumed he would die in a way befitting a king - falling on the field of battle, struck by spell from a vengeful sorcerer, or even poisoned by a usurper trying to steal his throne. He never once thought he’d be leaping to his death from a flaming tower, hand-in-hand with Merlin. It wasn’t dignified, especially considering that the fire was the result of an accident – flames leaping from the hearth to Arthur’s cloak while he slept. He was lucky Merlin had gotten his cloak off so quickly.

They weren’t even supposed to be in the tower in the first place. When Arthur had initially pestered Merlin to go hunting with him, he envisioned a couple of days of traipsing through the forest. He would complain about Merlin scaring the game, but not really mean it. They could spend their nights around a campfire, like they used to when he was still a prince, with no obligations and no interruptions. There were things that Arthur needed to tell Merlin, feelings-things, better disclosed in the stillness of a night under the stars rather than the hectic halls of government.

All had not gone according to plan. A downpour had forced them into an abandoned lookout tower and the room that was now blazing around them. The stone walls themselves might not burn, but the old papers, torn tapestries, and wooden furniture strewn about in the ruins were like dry kindling. With the stairs leading to the bottom floor blocked by a wall of flame, they were backed against the wall.

There was the window, glass long gone, now just an opening to the outside world. Arthur had hoped they could somehow climb down, but that wasn’t going to work. Even though the rain had stopped, the tower’s exterior was still wet and slippery. Not that it mattered. The stone was too smooth, providing no handholds to grasp.

So this was it. The end. Arthur was going to die today. What a strange thought. And to make matters worse, he would meet his end without having confessed his feelings to Merlin, which was the whole point of this damned trip.

Arthur wondered if it would be more dignified to simply stand proud and bravely face the flames. That’s what Uther would have told him to do.

“You absolute clotpole, jump!”

Merlin pulled Arthur from his thoughts quite literally, dragging the king along with him as he leapt from the tower.

No one ever need know, Arthur decided, that the king of Camelot was secretly afraid of heights. Not wanting to watch the ground rise up to meet them, Arthur squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself for the impact.

Any minute now it would happen. They would hit with a force that no one could survive. He had told Leon not to expect them back until tomorrow so at least two days would pass before the search party found their bodies. Would they still be holding hands? Arthur hoped so.

Yes, the end was close. Just another second… or two… or three?

Though Arthur was in no rush to meet his end, he couldn’t help but notice that plummeting was taking a lot longer than he’d initially imagined. Math hadn’t been his best subject under his tutors, but he was still pretty sure that they should have hit the ground by now.

It felt as though the speed of their descent had slowed. He no longer felt, or heard, wind rushing past. Apart from Merlin’s hand, still tightly gripping his own, all Arthur could really feel was a cool, yet gentle breeze against his exposed skin. In fact, he no longer even felt as though he was falling.

That couldn’t be right. Arthur needed more data, which meant he would have to open his eyes. He took a deep breath and glanced around. It was as he had suspected – they were suspended in the air. That was unexpected, but also very convenient all things considered.

Arthur knew he was supposed to making sense of the world around him but first he needed to make sense of Merlin. It was hard to read his expression; there was a tiny smile, but also a grimace of terror. Merlin wouldn’t hold his gaze, turning away just as Arthur noticed the golden glow of what had to be the fire reflecting in Merlin’s eyes.

“Are you alright?” Arthur asked. Physics could wait. Something was wrong with Merlin.

Merlin said nothing, and instead gave Arthur’s hand a hard squeeze. Maybe Merlin was afraid of heights, too. Arthur glanced around as he tried to think of some comforting words to say.

“I… um… I think we’ve stopped.”

“We have,” Merlin replied.

“I wonder why.”

Merlin said nothing, not that Arthur could blame him.

It was strange. The fire was raging behind them. The breeze was still blowing. A few birds flew overhead. The world was, on the whole, still functioning correctly. There was just the one minor exception of the ground forgetting to collect them.

Arthur considered this for a moment.

“Merlin, do you think it might be sorcery?”

The sound Merlin made was unlike any Arthur had heard from his servant in the many years they’d known each other. It began as a laugh, then twisted into something else, so distraught and full of anguish… but they were suspended fifty feet in the air, an inferno behind them, with magic likely the only thing protecting them. Of course, Merlin would be upset.

“I panicked.” Merlin finally said.

“You panicked?”

“The fire was out of control and I didn’t know if I could stop it in time. So I jumped. We were supposed to have a nice, soft landing, only I didn’t think it through. You’d realize what had happened. Because you’re thick but you’re not that thick.”

“Hey!” Arthur didn’t entirely understand what Merlin was telling him, but he did recognize the insult.

“So I panicked. Which means we’re kind of stuck. My magic is holding us in place – we won’t fall. But it knows that I’m afraid to land and it won’t let us down.”

One of the earliest lessons aspiring young knights learned was how to remain calm, even when facing overwhelming fear. As it so happened, that skill was useful for kings as well.

Breathe, Arthur thought to himself, falling back on his training. Just breathe and think this through.

Ok, the best strategy would be to dissect the situation one piece at a time. Where to begin? Magic. Uther had constantly warned Arthur about its dangers, but magic had enabled them to escape the flames and magic was currently keeping them from plummeting to the ground below. Uther had been wrong about a great many things. Maybe, at least for the time being, it was time to give magic a second chance.

Next, Merlin. Apparently Merlin had magic and was rather capable with it considering that they hadn’t yet fallen. Which would mean that Merlin had likely been studying for some time. Maybe longer than Arthur had known him. Uther would say that Merlin was plotting and scheming, waiting for the right time to attack Arthur and Camelot.

Except that couldn’t be true. Merlin had used his magic to save Arthur. If he really wanted the king out of the way, he could’ve simply saved himself and left Arthur to burn. Anyway, if Arthur was certain of anything in the world, it was that Merlin was kind and loyal.

Third, Merlin was afraid of Arthur. He hadn’t confided his secret in the king, and they were stuck in the air because of his fear of what would happen when they finally made it down. When Merlin jumped from the window, he had put himself in danger in more ways than one to save Arthur. And even in the midst of such a selfless act, he was terrified that Arthur would… Arthur wasn’t sure, but whatever Merlin had imagined, it couldn’t be good. That realization caused Arthur to feel a little queasy.

Fourth, the whole ordeal left Arthur loving Merlin even more than when they’d ridden out from Camelot the previous morning. The fact that even now, as he sat midair, awaiting the king’s judgment, he still held tightly to Arthur’s hand, left Arthur wondering if maybe despite his fear, Merlin felt a similar affection for Arthur.

There was only one way for Arthur to find out. He would have to take a risk. To jump, as it were.

“You know, I didn’t even want to go hunting,” Arthur finally said.

“Then why did we…?”

“Because I wanted to run away with you for a couple of days, just the two of us,” Arthur cut him off. “There’s… there’s something I need to tell you – I’ve been meaning to for a while, years maybe. But every time I try, there’s always an interruption. I thought that if we were away from everyone, then maybe...”

He trailed off, his resolve momentarily failing as the gravity, figurative that is, of the situation settled in on him.

Come on, Arthur thought to himself, you can do this. Be brave, like Merlin.

“I had it all planned out. We were going to sit around a campfire. You would look up at the stars and say something about how beautiful they were because that’s the kind of thing you always say on a clear night. And I’d tell you that they weren’t as beautiful as you and then…”

“Then what?” Merlin asked softly.

Arthur fought the urge to glance at Merlin to read his face. If he made eye contact, he knew he wouldn’t be able to get through this.

“Then I would see your reaction. If you weren’t receptive, I would laugh it off as a joke – make some crack about you being a girl.”

“And if I was receptive?” Merlin’s grip on Arthur’s hand remained tight, but his thumb began to trace circles along Arthur’s skin. That was a promising sign.

“Then my plan was to confess how I think about you all the time, how I care about you more than anyone, how I love you with all my heart. And then, if you still hadn’t left, I was going to kiss you. But of course nothing went according to plan. So here we are.”

“You still could, you know.”

“Still could?”

“Kiss me. If you want to. I think… I think I would like it if you did.”

His brave sorcerer was suddenly shy.

“You _think_ you would like it?”

“Well I won’t know for sure until you do.”

The fear in Merlin’s voice had given way to gentle affection, lending Arthur the courage he needed to spare a glance his way.

Merlin’s eyes met his and Arthur found himself completely undone. And how could he not be, with the way Merlin looked at him, as if he was the only person in the world, as if he was Merlin’s world.

What the hell, thought Arthur. It was a day for leaps of faith.

Arthur had had always been taken with the way that poets described the first kisses of star-crossed lovers – the anticipation, the passion, the perfect choreography.

He supposed that two out of three weren’t bad for his own attempt as he felt Merlin’s lips against his own. They were cool, his skin chilled by the damp air, but his breath was warm on Arthur’s face. There was some initial awkward positioning of noses and teeth that caused Arthur to almost lose his resolve until Merlin’s enthusiasm cut through his worry. That’s when it fully hit him.

He was kissing Merlin. After years of thinking about it and dreaming about it, it was actually happening. Forget the poets and their overly flowery descriptions. This was far, far better than anything Arthur had ever read about. The poets had clearly spent too much time writing about kissing and not enough time actually experiencing it. His only complaint was the cold. The wind had picked up and…

Ah. They were falling again.

“Merlin – do something!”

In the time it took Arthur to shout, they dropped even farther. The distance between them and the ground was rapidly closing. This might be the day Arthur died after all. He wasn’t happy about it, but the prospect seemed slightly less grim than it had earlier. At least he had gotten to kiss Merlin.

Arthur kept his grip on Merlin’s hand. Not that he could’ve retrieved his own fingers if he’d wanted to, as Merlin clung to him just as tightly. They would be together, even at the end.

Merlin caught them two inches above the ground, the force from the abrupt halt jarring Arthur more than a blow from a mace.

“Sorry about that,” Merlin said, his voice shaky. “My magic knew I wasn’t scared anymore, and it let us go, but I was distracted when it did and…”

“Merlin of Ealdor,” Arthur said, trying to keep his voice from shaking as he took on the formal tone he reserved for official ceremonies, “you are officially the most ridiculous sorcerer to walk the Earth. Also the most endearing.”

Arthur felt warmth spread across his cheeks. It had been one thing to confess his affection for Merlin when they were suspended in the air, the absurdity of the situation making it somewhat easier to talk about feelings. Now that they were back on the ground, Arthur’s insecurities started to once again take hold. What if Merlin had only tolerated the kiss because he thought they were about to die? Now that he knew how Arthur felt about him, would he decide to leave? Had Arthur ruined everything?

Merlin interrupted Arthur’s intrusive thoughts, throwing himself quite literally on the king. Arthur had never been kissed senseless before. It was, he decided, something he quite liked, at least when Merlin was the one doing the kissing.

“These are Arthur and Merlin’s horses,” a familiar voice called from the nearby trees. “You don’t think they got caught in…”

The sound of heavy footfalls rapidly approaching caused Merlin to pull back. He gave Arthur a quick smile and whispered “later,” before shifting off Arthur to sit on the ground beside him.

“My lord, you’re both ok.” Percival crashed out of the foliage, the panic in his eyes retreating as he looked them over.

“They’re alright,” he called to Elyan, who followed not far behind.

“We were on patrol and saw the smoke,” Elyan explained. “When we found your horses, we thought you might be trapped in there.”

“We were,” Arthur said as he made it to his feet, Merlin rising with him.

“How did you make it out?” Percival asked.

“We jumped,” Merlin said.

“You jumped? But…”

“Merlin is a man of many talents,” Arthur replied. “I just didn’t recognize all of them until today.”

That should leave them guessing, Arthur thought. It was important for a king to maintain an air of mystery and…

“Took you long enough,” Elyan muttered as they walked toward the horses. “Gwen said you’d eventually figure it out, but I wasn’t sure.”

“You knew?” Merlin asked.

“Of course,” Percival replied. “You’re not entirely subtle.”

Merlin blushed and Arthur felt a surge of affection. He wished he known first, but it was alright. At least Merlin hadn’t confided in the others. And, if Elyan and Percival knew about Merlin’s magic, there was no reason not to put it to good use.

“Put out the fire, Merlin. We don’t need the rest of the forest to burn.”

He watched in awe as Merlin extinguished the flames. The knights seemed less impressed. He supposed they’d witnessed similar displays before. No matter, he and Merlin still had one secret that the knights and Gwen didn’t know about.

Percival gave Arthur a big smile, his eyes darting from the king’s face to his hand, still clasping Merlin’s.

Ok. Apparently Arthur had no secrets. Fine. That just meant he could hold Merlin’s hand all the way on the ride back to Camelot.


End file.
